Jim Curtin calls out the Union’s ‘really small brains’ in too-wild game vs. Saprissa

Union manager Jim Curtin doesn’t often criticize his players in public. But he gave them some sharp words in the locker room Tuesday night, then did so again from the news conference podium after his team’s — well, what exactly was that, anyway?

“It’s a win, or a tie that’s a win, that feels like a loss, really,” Curtin said.

His Yogi Berra impression was on point. After the Union won the first 90 minutes of their Concacaf Champions Cup series vs. Saprissa, 3-2, in Costa Rica last week, Saprissa won the second 90, 3-2, at Subaru Park on Tuesday.

That was the only score that could take the series to extra time, because goals scored on the road are the aggregate-score tiebreaker. Each team had the same total, so the series went 30 more minutes.

Mikael Uhre scored in the fourth of those, and the Union held on despite being down a man after Jack Elliott’s red card near the end of regulation.

So, yes: The Union lost the game but tied the series, then tied the game to win the series.

» READ MORE: Union just barely beat Saprissa in a wild Concacaf Champions Cup series finale

If that gives you a headache, take a step back. Anyone who has watched Europe’s famed Champions League knockout rounds knows how this works, and that’s a lot of people by now. So the format isn’t the issue.

The actual headache was caused by the one-two punch of Elliott’s ejection for a silly lunging tackle, then Damion Lowe’s yellow card in the 104th minute that earned him a suspension for bookings in consecutive Concacaf games.

That means the Union will be without two of their three regular centerbacks for their quarterfinal series opener against Mexico’s Pachuca on Tuesday at Subaru Park (7 p.m., broadcast TBD).

“I think the easiest way to sum it up is, I think our group has really, really big heart, and big character, and big guts,” Curtin said. “But all of us — staff, players — really small brains in this game. Because we made it really hard on ourselves when we didn’t have to.”

He also indicated that the Union won’t appeal Elliott’s red card to Concacaf’s disciplinary committee, which the team could do if it wanted to.

“Any time you leave your feet and make a tackle from behind, you’re leaving yourself up for a red card,” Curtin said. “It might be the right call, unfortunately for us.”

» READ MORE: Julián Carranza’s dazzling hat trick in the first game vs. Saprissa was a reminder of what makes a big-time striker

Jakob Glesnes, the captain for the night with Andre Blake injured and Alejandro Bedoya a substitute, echoed Curtin’s view.

“That wasn’t us,” he said. “We have showed early in the season that that’s been happening too often, where we have come in with a slow start and we have to come back, and that’s not when we are best.”

That includes Glesnes himself, who committed fouls that produced two Saprissa goals: Luis Paradela’s first-half penalty kick and Mariano Torres’ second-half free kick.

“It’s not good enough from me, so I have to clean it up,” he said, as matter-of-factly as ever.

Who will play vs. Pachuca? Glesnes is the only starting centerback left standing, and Olwethu Makhanya is the only other centerback on the roster. Makhanya has no first-team minutes yet, though, and this won’t be the time to change that. So expect Nathan Harriel to get the call, since the usual right back has played centerback some in the past.

Some fans will lament the absence of Brandan Craig, the Union’s marquee centerback prospect who was loaned to El Paso Locomotive of the second-tier USL Championship so he can finally get regular playing time. They might especially lament the fact that the loan has no recall clause.

But while Craig has big-time U.S. youth national team experience, he has played all of six minutes at the senior level. So he’d have been thrown in at the deep end, too.

» READ MORE: The Union are running it back again. Will it work this time?

At least the suspensions won’t affect Saturday’s regular-season game at Sporting Kansas City (8:30 p.m., Apple TV, free). Elliott and Lowe are just about locks to play in it. The Union will likely rotate their lineup heavily otherwise, with a short turnaround to Tuesday.

“I knew when we conceded that stupid second goal at the end of the game in Costa Rica, that was the start of why I’m here now talking about 120 minutes,” Curtin said. “That’s on us.”

As bad as the taste in everyone’s mouth was, the good things from the night shouldn’t be entirely overlooked.

First of all, the Union won the series, which matters. The Union have now won all three Concacaf first-round series they’ve played in, which is a fine accomplishment.

Beating Pachuca, currently tied for first place in Liga MX, was going to be a huge task even with everyone available.

Los Tuzos don’t have as many household names as other clubs, but midfielder Erick Sánchez — who scored for Mexico against Germany at Lincoln Financial Field last October — is a big-time player on a squad that’s unusually young by Mexico’s big-spending standards.

» READ MORE: MLS says it has global ambition, but too often acts like it doesn’t. That needs to change.

But at least the Union will get to try. It would have been a bad look if Saprissa had won the series, especially after the Union scored three away goals in the first game.

The rest of the good news came from the Union’s attack. Uhre scored the series-winning goal, making it two games in a row that he has hit the net. And newcomer Markus Anderson showed in his Union debut why the club hopes it found another hidden gem. The 20-year-old brought pace, shooting instinct, and a nifty cutback in playing the night’s first 45 minutes.

“We wanted to see Markus and give him a shot,” Curtin said. ”I thought he actually did really, really well. On a different night, I would have let him [stay] out there to continue, but we conceded the two silly goals, and then it becomes a scramble from there.”

Anderson was happy to get his first proper run after a brief cameo in the game at Saprissa.

“When I came, I hadn’t played for a little bit, but I’m getting used to things,” he said. “The rhythm is new, it’s faster. So I’m just ready to compete and work hard and get ready to play in MLS.”

All hands on deck are welcome, especially right now.

» READ MORE: Mikael Uhre and Quinn Sullivan’s growing chemistry could be a big help for the Union